Utah Jazz: Korver continues hot trend on b-day

Kyle Korver arrived at EnergySolutions Arena sporting unusual footwear on Tuesday — a pair of white Vans with a pattern of multiple small green shamrocks on them.

"I wear them once a year, on my birthday," said the Utah Jazz forward.

The shoes and his green sweater make sense because his birthday happens to be on St. Patrick's Day. More than a dozen signs in the crowd wished the Jazz fan favorite a happy 28th.

It turned out Korver, despite getting a bit winded, had the luck of the Irish going for him on the court on his big day, too. He scored a game-high 15-points to lead the Jazz to a 103-88 victory over the short-handed Washington Wizards, snapping Utah's three-game losing streak in the process.

"We needed a win," said Korver. "We had a couple of tough losses, but hopefully we can learn from them and move on."

On a night when the Jazz had a balanced scoring attack — eight players scored eight or more points — Korver was the most productive. He made 6-of-9 shots from the field, including two 3-pointers on four tries in 19 minutes of play. His good shooting night continues a recent trend. Korver is averaging 13.3 points in the past six games, about five points better than his season average before the streak.

"(Korver's) making his shots," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "When you make your shots, it covers up a lot of mistakes. He's worked to get open and when we execute and he works to get open, you feel pretty good about him shooting the ball when he lets it go."

Korver admitted he got winded, thanks to Utah's altitude, after spending the previous two games at sea level in Florida.

"It's that air," explained Korver. "I was tired. I've never asked to come out of a game because I was tired before. I have always prided myself on always being in good shape. But after about five minutes of being in, I was like 'whew.' I was tired."

The Jazz won't have a whole lot more time to get used to Salt Lake City's thin air because they next travel to Oklahoma City for a Friday night game. Utah will return home to face the Houston Rockets in a battle with huge playoff implications on Tuesday night.

"We've got 14 games left and they are all huge," said Korver. "We know how tough the road is, especially with the people we're going to play. These are all really, really tough games."

Korver's lucky shoes will be headed back to the closet for another year, but he, no doubt, is hoping his team will still have good fortune in the coming weeks as the playoffs draw near.

E-mail: lojo@desnews.com